


Evolution

by thenewadventuresofsinbad_archivist



Series: The NEW Adventures of Sinbad Fan-Fiction Season 2 [4]
Category: The Adventures of Sinbad (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2000-10-12
Updated: 2000-10-12
Packaged: 2019-03-15 22:41:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13623009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thenewadventuresofsinbad_archivist/pseuds/thenewadventuresofsinbad_archivist
Summary: By MelanieAlthough Firouz and Maeve have almost nothing in common, they must realize how to work together to stay alive.





	Evolution

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Merlin and Calvin, the archivists: this story was originally archived at [The New Adventures of Sinbad Fan Fiction Season 2](https://fanlore.org/wiki/The_New_Adventures_of_Sinbad_Fan_Fiction_Season_2) and was moved to the AO3 as part of the Open Doors project in 2018. I tried to reach out to all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are the creator and would like to claim this work, please contact me using the e-mail address on [The New Adventures of Sinbad Fan Fiction Season 2’s collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/thenewadventuresofsinbad/profile).

* * *

**EPISODE 04 – EVOLUTION**  
  
WRITTEN BY – MELANIE  
EDITED BY – MERLIN, STARLIGHT

* * *

**TEASER**

Firouz and Maeve are at a science convention, when things take a turn for the worst,

_"Oh dear," Firouz muttered._

and they are taken to an evil scientist's fortress,

_"What kind of monster are you?" Maeve whispered in utter revulsion._

who wants Firouz to be his partner in his experiments.

_"Remember, this is the future of events! And you shall be part of it all..." Cognito explained._

Will Firouz help Cognito and achieve all of his dreams of becoming an accomplished scientist, no matter what the cost?

_"I will never help you!" Firouz shouted._

Or allow Maeve to be hurt?

_"Is it permanent?" Sinbad asked._

_Maeve cast her eyes down. "I don't know. It could be..."_

Find out in "Evolution", coming up next... 

* * *

The crew of the Nomad was relaxing about in a port bar, taking some much needed rest from their legendary exploits. Doubar was busy challenging those foolish enough to take him on in an arm wrestling match and one could hear the yelps of pain as their hands hit the table with pounding force.

Sinbad laughed at the sight of another defeat by his older brother's inhuman strength as he took another swig of ale. Mustapha and Rongar were sitting across from him and chatting. Mustapha looked around the bar in interest as he put down his mug.

"Hey Sinbad," the swarthy man asked as he continued to scan the busy room, "Where'd your girlfriend and the inventor go?"

Sinbad pursed his lips at the mention of 'girlfriend' before letting it slip. "Firouz found some science convention to go to and dragged Maeve along for the ride." With a wary smile the captain sipped his mug and gave Mustapha a knowing look. "I think she said she'd rather deal with the boring lectures of science than your conversation, Mustapha, if I'm not mistaken."

Rongar smiled and nodded solemnly as Mustapha tried hard not to look insulted. The slam of another hand and Doubar's booming laugh signaled victory for the first mate and interrupted any further discussion as all three turned to see him.

"That's an ale you owe me!" Doubar chuckled to the young man tenderly nursing his crushed hand close to his chest. Concern washed over the giant's features as he took his opponents hand in his. "I didn't hurt you too much did I? Hey Sinbad!" Doubar beckoned his younger brother over, "Where's Firouz? I think I hurt this one!"

"I don't think he'll be back for a while," Sinbad replied with a sigh, "You know how he can ramble on when it comes to dealing 'in matters of science'!" the captain quoted in the same excited tone Firouz always used.

Doubar clapped the young man beside him on the back, causing the man to blanche and nearly fall over. "Well it looks like it might be a while, why don't I buy you a drink instead?" The man nodded eagerly if not a little afraid of refusing him as Doubar guided him over to the bar for a drink in apology.

"At least I don't bore someone to death," Mustapha grumbled sullenly to Sinbad when they returned to their conversation.

Sinbad chuckled, "Believe me, after all the harrowing near death experiences we're so used to I'm sure Maeve would welcome a chance at boring. I mean, how much trouble can you really get into at a science fair?"

~~~

"Not one word Firouz, not a single word." Maeve grumbled as she tried to wipe the last of the viscous clear gel from her vest. The sorceress looked very annoyed at the present moment with Firouz walking guiltily beside her.

"I'm truly sorry Maeve, but I never knew that Daljin's invention would go off like that. I mean, it was so unexpected!" The inventor stammered in apology. "You should have let them try out that new cleaner on you, it might have worked;"

"Oh no!" Maeve huffed and turned to face her friend, "I'm not going to let anyone come at me with a hollow tube and bellows calling it a cleaning machine! It was your science that got me messy in the first place!"

Firouz looked hurt for a moment at her words. "And your magic has yet to solve those problems. We are trying to improve the world with out ideas! The least you could do was be willing to experiment with the possibilities from so many bright and innovative people. That was a utopia for the new minds centered on the progress of mankind."

Maeve rolled her eyes in remembrance, "Yes, and many of them just looking for attention. There was even a man who claimed the Earth was round."

"I believe it was quite well founded, my dear," Firouz countered with a self engrossed smile. "He brought up some interesting ideas on the curvature of the horizon as well as the difference of lights wave properties-"Maeve shot him a dirty look at the prospect of hearing yet another lecture and the inventor clamped his mouth shut from continuing. "Well, I at least found it interesting."

"Oh you would," Maeve muttered under her breath.

"You didn't seem to mind it so much when you were talking to the handsome man explaining the theory of the light spectrum," inventor grinned knowingly.

Maeve continued on nonplused and pulled out the small crystal shard from the pouch on her belt. "Aye, he had something very interesting to say about that. Especially with those new light spells I was learning, I thought I could understand them better." She tossed the small prism in her hand nonchalantly and smiled. "And I got something out of it for free too."

"He gave you one of his prisms for nothing?"

Maeve's satisfied grin grew wider. "It was a fair trade. I showed him a fireball or two for him to study in exchange for this-" She rummaged through the leather bag to pull out a black container in the form of a triangle with a slit on the side. The prism shard snapped into place beside it and Maeve turned the device over in her hands. "He said it could identify the amount of energy from light."

"Ah;" Firouz murmured, leaning over to inspect the strange black object with his usual curiosity. "That is one of those spectrum scopes I keep hearing about. But it can't work with sources like sunlight, Maeve. There are too many factors to make an accurate hypothesis for such a primitive design. Maybe if we had better technology or more ideas about it;"

"Magic isn't like sunlight," Maeve responded, cutting off the inventor's speech. "Well, at least not all the time. Anything magical gives off some kind of energy, Master Dim-Dim claimed it could be a form of light out of our range to see with our own eyes, that depended on the power of the sorcerer or sorceress."

Maeve lifted the 'spectrum scope' and looked into it with one eye. She squinted in the eyepiece and held up the other hand, flexing her fingers to spark the beginnings of a fireball.

"Maeve?" Firouz asked and tugged her sleeve.

Maeve snorted in annoyance as she tried to see if anything would develop in the box's spectrum. So far there was just blackness, not even a color! "Not now, Firouz, I'm busy."

"Maeve, this is important," Firouz argued more urgently, "You really should see this."

"What?!" Maeve snapped and glared at Firouz. What she saw, worried her. The inventor's face was pallid, with his mouth hanging slightly agape. She followed the line of sight from where his widened eyes stared out in front of them to an astonishing spectacle. Maeve had to cut her breath short.

Standing in front of the two was a battalion of armored warriors, thirteen in all. Not soldiers with plates and chains of iron to cover their bodies, but an entire anatomy confined by the suit of armor. Where the muscled plates met their hinges, only an absence of body could be found. Even the heads were merely a helmet with a red plume contrasting against the golden tint that shined in the sunlight. The area where the smooth face mask stopped, a place that would usually show the eyes of a warrior behind it, were merely soulless embers that glowed with an unholy thrum against the empty shadow of the interior.

"What on Earth?" Maeve murmured, tensing up into her battle stance.

"Not Earth, Maeve," Firouz corrected as the automatons began to make their way towards them with slow clanking stomps. "What man could spawn these?"

"Someone who's going to be a little upset I ruined his toys," Maeve retorted to the silent machines as she let the growing sparks in her hand swirl and intensify to become a fireball. Firouz drew his sword in preparation as Maeve called out her ultimatum to the impending reach of their opponents. "Move out of our way or I make you move!"

The machines did not respond, nor did they even flinch as Maeve lifted her clutched hand and let the first fireball loose upon the leading machine's breastplate. The machine stumbled in response, taking a step back before continuing to its slow advance. The others did not even turn their head to their comrade before reaching out with their metallic hands to grab at the two dazed crew members.

Firouz reacted first, pulling the standing form of Maeve away from the leader's grasp. Maeve snapped out of her surprised daze and turned to the inventor. "There's not even a scratch;"

"Then I suggest we make a strategic retreat," Firouz pressed as he turned to run. Maeve nodded, pulling out her broadsword, and began to race after the inventor. The machines simultaneously turned their heads up with a screeching jerk. The embers seemed to glow with a brighter intensity as the pace quickened for each automaton and they hurried after their quarry.

"This way," Maeve ordered as she grabbed Firouz with her free hand and pulled the inventor in a sharp turn into the forest beside the road. Both Firouz and Maeve darted through the trees, pushing branches out of their way with sword and free hands. Maeve's brown eyes darted about frantically for some sort of cover ahead, or something that might help them escape their tireless hunters.

"I believe there's a ravine just over this ridge," Firouz panted breathlessly as he took a moment to rest by leaning on his sword.

Maeve sheathed her sword and pulled Firouz to his feet with both hands, urgency in her actions. "Then we better reach it before those bucket brains reach us."

The clanking of the armored troops spurred both sorceress and scientist into movement. Maeve glanced behind them every so often, her hands clutched in preparation for the formation of another fireball should they need one. Firouz was rushing headlong into the forest, his feet nearly taking him over the edge of the steep precipice as he tried to break from his speed. The inventor snatched at a tree trunk with his free hand, the other plunging his blade into the ground for support. A loose piece of the ledge crumbled, sending fragments of stone to clatter downward and fall into the deep chasm.

"Oh dear," Firouz muttered.

Maeve stood with her back to him; her body tensed in preparations for the mechanical hunters who would follow them up the path and set upon them at any moment. She turned around slightly, anger flaring in her brown eyes. "What do you mean 'Oh dear'?!"

"Just that this is more of a problem than I thought it would be." The inventor said, more to himself than to the sorceress as he began searching for something to get them across. "Give me a moment."

Maeve turned her attention back to the forest, where one could hear the shatter of wood as the battalion thrashed the outcroppings that stood in their way with crude efficiency. A tree crashed to the forest floor as one of the soldiers on the right flank struck it down with one swing of its geared arm to let the machines behind it keep going. The three in the lead lifted their metal heads; the armor shining in the shafts of light that filtered through the forest. Maeve gripped the small fireball in her hand, insignificant to the brutish power those thirteen forces of destruction showed.

With a grunt the sorceress let her spell fly from her hand. The ball of flames sailed towards the machines that stood there in distant curiosity. The leader lifted its head with a clanking motion, the amber eyes glowing even more brightly. The fireball arched and flew down as the machine's eyes hummed before a beam of red light shot out through the glowing sparks, tearing through Maeve's spell with ease, and continued its destructive path by barreling straight at her.

It was only with her instinctual reflexes that Maeve ducked the blast. The beam from the automaton struck a tree behind her with a blast and sent it falling into the brush with a thud. Maeve flinched, knowing full well that it could have been her as easily as that tree to receive its death.

"What does it take to kill these things?" she muttered before standing up again.

"Maeve!" Firouz called out as he ran across the ravine. The inventor sheathed his sword and began to take measurements with his hands. "I think I know how to cross the canyon!"

"Then do it!" Maeve snapped, and ducked from another one of the eye blasts that was shot above her. She covered her head with her hands as bits of wood fell in shattered pieces about her.

"I need your help," Firouz said and beckoned her towards him with hurried hand motions. "More accurately; your magic."

"Firouz, wait," Maeve gasped breathlessly as she ran beside him to the edge of the ravine. They both turned their heads as the crash of another tree echoed behind them.

The inventor spun to where a tree leaned precariously over the edge, some of the winding roots peaking through the ground in its titled base. He pointed to an area near the bottom of it with his finger. "Hit the base with one of your fireballs and we can use it for a bridge to get over the canyon and then destroy it when we've made it over."

"I don't think...I have enough...enough energy for another," Maeve muttered in ragged breaths and leaned on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"An exploding stick!" Firouz exclaimed to himself and rummaged through the pouch that hung on his waist. "If you can just light it we can; Oh dear."

"You know, I'm really beginning to hate you saying that."

"I left them with Doubar for safe keeping. I thought they might be dangerous to carry." The inventor glanced up with a contrite expression, "Sorry."

"Oh, and these things aren't dangerous?!" Maeve growled incredulously.

"I said I was sorry. Perhaps another alternative?"

"I've got an idea," Maeve said with a grin. She clapped Firouz on the shoulder and stood resolutely facing the direction of the warriors, her second wind coming and a plan formulating in her head. "Just get out of my way and run across as soon as that tree falls."

"But what if you're-"

"Do it!" Maeve ordered as she shoved him away from where she stood. The sorceress turned as the clanking legions finally arrived through the maze of trees. She was still exhausted from before, but if all went right, she wouldn't have to do anything to get the tree to fall.

"Come and get me you clanking excuses for scrap metal!" Maeve shouted in the loudest voice possible and waved her arms. "You couldn't hit the broadside of a ship with an army bolts for brains!"

If it were possible, the phalanx looked agitated with her taunts. The leading line of the machines moved forward from the rest, raising their heads as the eyes started to glow again.

"Come on, come on…" Maeve whispered to herself, her fingers twitching as if to make them come forward any quicker. The brightness in the eyes became near blinding and Firouz watched on in horror as a huge beam of light shot out from four faces and barreled straight towards Maeve's waiting figure. The sorceress ducked out of the way at the last minute and let all four red columns of destructive force hit the wooden trunk.

"Now!" Maeve shouted to Firouz as she clambered over the flaming remains of the severed trunk and began to run across the tree. Firouz followed right after her in their escape, albeit without the same grace as he balanced himself and ran across the trunk. The inventor stopped in the middle of his run and turned around to see the machines gather round the edge of the ravine.

"Firouz! What are you doing?!" Maeve shouted to her friend as he stood precariously balanced in the middle of the makeshift bridge. The sorceress looked as if she might return and drag him off but he waved her back with the confidence that she knew to trust.

"Just a moment, just a moment;" Firouz muttered and waved her off distractedly. He paced across the trunk in thought, as if trying to find something in its bark.

One of the automatons reached the trunk and stepped on it, the golden boot crushing the wood beneath it with its weight. Maeve screamed more urgently, "Firouz!"

"And the distance to the fulcrum is inversely proportional to;" Firouz muttered and looked above him while Maeve screamed for him to get off. "Maeve I will need you to give everything you have to push this thing;" Firouz stepped back once while another two clambered onto the log, "about;"

"Now!" Firouz shouted as he threw himself to the edge of the ravine. As he suspected, his in the center weight balanced the already teetering log to support the three other automatons. Without his ballast, the tree would go out of balance and effectively fall. That was if his removal could allow him to survive as well by reaching the safe stability of the cliff. Maeve struck at the trunk with her sword to cut the base away and sent it falling. The three machines that were following them toppled along with the tree and one could loudly hear the crash of branches and gears when they reached bottom of the crevice.

"You are absolutely insane," Maeve muttered and grabbed Firouz's vest in order to pull him up over the side of the cliff. They lay breathless next to each other and the sorceress shot him a mock glare. "You're a genius but insane!"

"It-it-it was n-nothing," Firouz stammered happily, "Just basic proportional values in accordance to the distribution of weight."

The sorceress didn't care that she couldn't understand a word he said but she was glad he knew what he was talking about. "Let's get out of here in case those things figure out how to build bridges."

"Agreed," Firouz said and they stood to make their exit.

But it seemed the automatons didn't need bridges to cross the ravine, as one knelt down before it's mechanical strength sent it up in the air by twenty feet to land on the edge of the precipice. Firouz fumbled for his sword while Maeve threw a front kick at its chest plate to send it teetering over backwards from its precarious position.

The victory didn't last long however, as the remaining nine crouched in the same kneeling position to launch themselves in a golden fusillade over to the other embankment. Their landings were announced as the ground began tremor slightly before the mechanical drones started off again. Maeve, who was limping from striking her bone against that thing, was lagging behind her friend. Firouz ran back and steadied her under one arm as they ran frantically to outdistance themselves from the inhuman machines.

"We have to make a stand somewhere," Maeve told her friend. She stopped and pushed him away from her as she brought out her sword. "You keep running and find the others; I'll stall them."

"B-but, you're not match for them!" Firouz argued. He pulled out his sword and stood by her. "We have a better chance with our combined might. And I won't leave you."

"Oh, you stupid, stubborn..." Maeve cursed as another blast from the mechanical army detonated beside them. She brushed the wild hair from her face and looked to where the automatons were advancing.

"You think you can try some magic?" Firouz asked timidly.

Maeve closed her eyes and opened her palms to face their opponents. She braced herself for what might happen if she could not focus the energy of the spell. "Close your eyes, Firouz. I'm going to shed some light on these things."

Firouz did as he was told, wondering silently if these machines could see or be affected by whatever Maeve had planned. But he thought of the glowing eyes and how they seemed to be getting their power source somewhere. Despite everything he smiled faintly. Maybe Maeve had an observant scientific mind after all.

"Increpito caecus et productum!" Maeve chanted cautiously, hoping that the new light spell she learned would work. A web of blinding red light out from her fingertips that seemed to entangle the machines from their once single objective of reaching them. The automatons stumbled as if blind and began to wander aimlessly, bumping into each other.

"Perhaps it would be a good time for some scientific input," Firouz intoned and pulled out a glass orb, filled with some translucent liquid. The inventor tossed the sphere to the still disoriented machines, having it shatter against the metal surfaces. The two automatons it struck sparked flames and shuddered from malfunction as the turned to each other and began a fight between the two.

"What was that?" Maeve asked.

"I was trying to find a new kind of varnish formula for our equipment," Firouz said and drew his sword along with another of the glass balls. "I made a miscalculation and found it to be highly acidic instead. I was going to dilute it and see if this could be used to disarm a human from bare contact but right now I'm glad I didn't."

"Just as long as it takes those things out," Maeve replied and smiled at the small degree of victory. But it was short lived as the machines gained their bearing once again, making their way towards Firouz and Maeve purposefully. For a brief second, Maeve thought to try the spell again and raised her hand to begin the chant. "Increp-"

In a rush, one of the automatons moved forward in a charge and crushed her hand in its mechanical grip. The others followed its example and began to encircle their prey with clanking steps. Maeve let out a half whimper and tried not to let the feeling of having her spell break and its force being sent back into her.

"Let her go!" Firouz demanded and swung his sword to hack at the thing's chest. The only reaction was Firouz to recoil from the vibration of his blade against the metal armor. The machine did not seem to react but instead backhanded the inventor to its companions where the surrounded him.

Maeve spun and tried to flip the machine over her shoulder. But before she could find her footing the automaton's arm wrapped around her and began to crush against its chest. "Firouz!" She screamed in concern as she saw her friend try to fend the things' reaching arms by waving his sword around. It was a fruitless defense and the machines soon overtook him, blocking the inventor's flailing body from view. A sickening crack and the thud of a human form announced his defeat as one of the machines lifted the limp form up onto its shoulder.

"No! Stop it! Help! Somebody help us!" Maeve shouted frantically and tried again to break her captor's steeled grip. She kicked and thrashed against it before something hard and metallic struck the sensitive area where the neck met the shoulders and Maeve slumped into unconsciousness.

"Objective: Capture and containment of subjects confirmed. Awaiting further instructions," the machine holding Maeve cited off in a mechanical tone to some unknown source.

"Return to the lab," a cultured and succinct voice emitted from the small area on the chest that glowed. "Place the female into the siphon chamber for her assimilation. Have the male brought to the guest quarters, he may yet prove useful to my project."

"Understood," the machines echoed in robotic unison, and began to carry their prizes away, leaving the forest to return to its natural serenity.

~~~

"They should be back by now," Sinbad muttered worriedly as he paced the floor of the tavern.

"Calm down little brother," Doubar chuckled in his usual jovial manner. "Or you'll wear a hole through the floor with your pacing."

"Where are they?" Sinbad asked no one in particular, oblivious to what Doubar had said. "It's way past the time they were supposed to meet us."

"Is he always this crotchety?" Mustapha leaned over and whispered to Rongar. "Or is it just the whole thing with the redhead?"

Rongar shrugged with the enigmatic smile that made one think he actually might have an idea or two about the subject but would use his silence to stay out of it.

 

"I heard that," Sinbad growled and continued to pace. "With Firouz's knack of having something go horribly wrong in addition to Maeve and her short temper I have reason to worry."

"You're the one who usually gets us into the trouble," Mustapha drawled and leaned over the table. "Besides, it's a science fair, the only hazard would be death of boredom. You worry too much."

"Did I hear you speaking about the science convention?" asked a curious observer.

The crew turned around to find a handsome young man walking up to them. He looked very dashing with pitch black hair and a beard that contrasted to his dark olive skin. His clothes were also in good care, a silken vest to match his clean attire of the merchant's current style. He smiled with a charismatic charm and spoke to them with a soft accent that made them believe he was from the southern island cluster.

"Aye, what's it to you?" Mustapha asked warily and sipped his ale.

"Nothing, it's just that I couldn't help but overhear that you mentioned your two friends were at the science convention, am I correct?"

"Right," Doubar agreed.

"Well I just happen to think that I saw them. A tall redhead accompanying a shorter man with curly hair? The former with no real interest in what was going on?"

"That sounds like Maeve," Mustapha chuckled.

"Where is this going?" Sinbad asked, trying to get to the point.

"Oh, I was talking to your Maeve for quite a long time. She came to my booth asking about the effects of the light spectrum on certain magical elements. I found her to be an enchanting person to talk to, so intuitive and very beautiful."

Sinbad's lips pursed in annoyance, "What happened to them?"

"Oh, that crackpot, Daljin, spilt some of his invention over her and they left soon after. That was about two turns of the hourglass though. And I don't think they returned later on."

"Knowing Curly, he got them both in worse trouble," Mustapha grunted and set his flagon down.

"Just great," Doubar said sarcastically, "That means we have to go searching."

Sinbad shot his older brother a reproving look before turning to the informant. "Is there anyplace you think they could go-,"

"Arlin," the man finished for him.

"Arlin. Or do you think anyone looked like they might do our friends harm?"

"I don't know them that well to notice if anyone around here has a vendetta against those two. But many of the scientists are from far off, and some quite eccentric. Anyone could have taken a grudge against them for almost any reason."

"So we got another score of mad scientists to deal with along with saving our own," Mustapha sighed. "Not to mention a hotheaded sorceress."

"There's that insane metal recluse that lives on the mountain," the barkeep grunted before returning to polish the glasses. "That armored freak moves in and suddenly there's a decrease in my magical customers, or customers in general. He might have taken an interest in your friends."

"Who-?" Sinbad started to ask, but Arlin interrupted him.

"You mean Lord Cognito?" Arlin asked the barkeeper, "But no one has ever seen him in person." Arlin turned to the crew with an apologetic smile. "Forgive me for neglecting this man. He is rumored to wear a mask of metal to hide some disfigured scars from an accident of years before. But I'm sure he would look a little conspicuous if he just started strolling on the street."

"You don't always need to do the work yourself," Mustapha added with dubiousness at the easy wave off this Arlin seemed to use when it came to his suspects.

"Especially when you can have others to do your dirty work for you," Sinbad finished with a nod. "Tell me Arlin, where do we go to come calling upon this Cognito person?"

"The main road that leads out of the village leads to a fork in the trail. Take the left path that leads into the forest, later you'll come upon the base of the mountain. But that's where every other adventurer goes home packing, because the cliffs cannot possibly be scaled. No one could manage it."

"Then we'll be the first," Sinbad responded resolutely and Rongar rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"You could try the doorway," Arlin responded with a helpful grin. "It's located right underneath the castle and marked by a steel door with inscriptions that said if you solve it you will be granted access to a passageway that leads to the castle. But it holds a riddle that none of our wise men could decipher. All numbers and gibberish that make no sense."

Sinbad didn't seem to listen as he beckoned the rest of his men to follow, satisfied with the information he had. Arlin watched the captain move past him, and the scientist stood there with a bewildered look on his face. Mustapha sighed in resentment and stretched before standing up to join him. Muttering something along the lines of, "Him and that lousy overprotective fixation with that woman."

Doubar chuckled and clapped Arlin on the back, making the frailer man step forward. "Thanks much for the added information. Now if you'll excuse us-" Doubar planted a few loose coins on the table for the drinks and picked up another satchel, "-we have to go keep Sinbad from charging off without us."

Rongar nodded and joined Doubar as they left the tavern to catch up with their headstrong leader. Arlin watched them leave and waited a while before slipping out to the side. There, he turned to a darkened alleyway and glanced around.

One of the mechanical soldiers appeared out of the darkness, so suddenly that Arlin nearly ran into its golden chest. He gulped and looked up at the machine's cold and impassive eyes.

"What news?" the robot seemed to ask with the more human, if just barely, voice of its leader.

"I sent them to the passageway entrance. You can let your mercenaries pick them off there."

The automaton's head lowered, showing its empty face as it looked down on Arlin. "Did any of the others have raw magic with them? Besides the apprentice female?"

Arlin licked his lips, a nervous habit from dealing with a calculating megalomaniac like the master of this killing machine. "She seems to be the only magic user, no master with them. But the young man, their captain, I think he had something."

"A lover's protection trinket from our captive sorceress?"

"I'm not sure," Arlin said with growing unease. "All I know is that the bracelet he had was something; different."

"I will look into it, but for now they all will be disposed of without question. You did well to identify the female during my ruse of a science assembly. The companion may prove to be just the man I was looking for. But these 'friends' of theirs must not interfere. We cannot have any unknown variables contaminating my experiment."

"Understood, Milord," Arlin swallowed and tried hard not to faint from terror. "I will make sure of your wishes without fail."

"Remember my courier," the concentrated and intelligent voice sounded in a tone completely devoid of emotion. "Fail me and you shall join those who are rushing to their fate as we speak. Fail me and make me waste precious time to rectify your errors, and you will suffer as my specimens do. Then you shall wish you were dead."

Arlin nodded dumbly and stumbled out of the alleyway to go find Lord Cognito's mercenaries. The young man did not waste any time getting as far away as possible from the view of his master. The single mechanical soldier looked on dispassionately; it's blank face hiding behind it the eyes of the insane puppeteer who resolved to make sure his experiment succeeded. Even at the expense of the entire crew.

~~~

Maeve groaned as she felt consciousness return to her in a painful rush. The sorceress rubbed the base of her neck where the final blow struck her in the erstwhile tussle that seemed to be having lingering effects on her health. She opened her eyes to find herself lying in the middle of a plain cell. It was a faint light and Maeve blinked, thinking her sight had not returned to her properly. But it wasn't her eyes, for the room glowed a dim yellow from glowing chunks of crystal that adorned the rafters.

Suppressing a groan of discomfort, the sorceress stood up and immediately began inspecting her cell for any means of escape. She ran her fingers along the smooth white walls for any crack or evidence of a door that she had come through. After a thorough searched including the corners where the walls met, she backed up to the center of the room in complete bafflement that there was no entrance to be found at all.

"What did they do?" Maeve grumbled with her hands on her hips in the usual pose of annoyance, "Drop me from the ceiling?"

"Actually, it was from the mechanisms in the floor that ascended to this containment unit for my specimens." A dissonant and downright inhuman voice filtered throughout the room. "But you wouldn't possibly comprehend the scientific principles behind my ingenuity with your; intellectual hindrances."

Maeve paced the room like a caged tiger in search of the voice's origin. So she could properly show the thing behind that calculating tone just what a hindrance she could be. "Why don't you comprehend this? Let me out of her right now and I don't burn your cell right to the ground."

Even though she could not see her captor, Maeve was pretty sure the pause was more for dramatic effect than real terror. And the voice confirmed by its reply, "As I suspected, your abilities are merely of brute physicality and a paltry dabbling in mysticism; no real formidable traits besides that. At least your raw force could be harnessed to assist a truly worthy cause whereas your own direction would just serve to lengthen your pointless existence."

"My mother said I had a temper if that helps," Maeve quipped and let a fireball grow in her hands. She let the thing loose against the area where the glowing rock was keeping the dim light in her cell. But to the sorceress's disappointment, instead of blowing the rock up and the wall behind it, the actual ball was seemingly absorbed to the light source, causing the room to glow in a lurid brightness for a moment and leaving the target of her attack intact.

"If you must continue to make your boorish attempts at escape, I should inform you that these walls are especially designed for subjects with your craft. They have the capabilities of absorbing anything you decide to pitch at them or use of sorcery within your containment at all. It is a form of the properties of light refraction and absorption, which I will not further with for obvious reasons that you will not understand. Just know that some of the strongest sorcerers and sorceress in the area have been drained without escape, and you are nowhere near their level of skill from my calculations. So just restrain yourself like the simple fodder for my designs that you are." The captor's voice paused as if contemplating something. "A pity you are not as inclined to syllogism as your companion is rumored to be."

"Firouz?" Maeve breathed in fear, suddenly remembering that he had been taken as well. Without thinking, Maeve drew her still intact sword in preparation to fight her unseen captor. "What have you done with him? Answer me you villain!"

"Nay, not villain. Scientist," the voice replied without pause. "Your companion is faring better than you are at the moment. Do not worry for him. I intend to use his intellect in synchronism with mine to better execute my plans. While you, my spitfire subject, shall only remain until this chamber has siphoned all of your magic for my design and then thrown out like so much dross after your purpose is served."

"Where is he?" Maeve shouted but stayed in a tensed battle-stance, not willing to demonstrate she was helpless in the cell. She didn't want to think about what the voice meant when it said "siphoned all of your magic" and disposing of her like she was not even a living thing to take into consideration. "I'll hunt you down and kill you if he's been harmed;"

"What a barbaric and contumacious specimen you are," the voice spoke as if in reflection in his notes, and not to her. "But if you must, he is currently recovering from your abduction in my guest chambers and as I stated before, faring better than you. Now, I must leave you to attend to my new assistant so just allow the room's desired effects to deplete your magical reserves. Use any spells you want or just sit there and meditate to prolong your agony, I don't care. You end up the same anyway."

"What kind of monster are you?" Maeve whispered in utter revulsion at this man's utter indifference to her life, considering little more than a specimen. Not even her archenemy Rumina was this callous to her adversaries.

"I have taken the name Cognito to be known by those who I wish it," the voice replied with an air of dignity. And before fading to leave her, stated; "But you may call me Lord."

Firouz waited impatiently for something to happen. His sword still hung neatly in its sheath, but the leather satchel of his inventions had disappeared when he regained consciousness. The inventor sat hunched over with his hand clasped in the way he always would do when mulling over some problem. And he could not think of an instance where this could not be counted as considerable problem.

Despite his fervent wish to be able to break out and rescue his companion, defeating their unknown captor in the process, Firouz knew it would do him no good to start any commotion, especially when he had another hostage to weigh in the equation. So, like any good scientist, he decided to wait and let the process unfold itself to him in due time.

The inventor thought back on what had happened, hoping to find some flaw to use to his advantage. When Firouz awoke he found himself in a small room, somewhere in the area of being comfortable but only to the basic needs. The chairs and tables that were in the chamber were littered with scrolls that Firouz could not keep out of the corner of his eyes, despite his predicament. The old adage must have held some truth to it: "Once a scientist…" and all that jazz. No decorations or ornaments whatsoever to clutter up the room filled with gadgets that reminded him of the home he left in Basra. It was almost cozy if not for the fact that it was the safe haven of the thing that kidnapped him.

The other major fault from making the room look cozy was the mechanical soldier standing guard by the door with its blank stare watching him from wherever he moved in the room.

"I truly wish you were capable of conversation," Firouz said to the unflappable machine as he paced across the length of the room. He stopped and glanced at the guard with a scrutinizing eye, analyzing it. "If not to answer why I am incarcerated here, then to explain the mechanisms that make you work…"

Firouz sighed as he stared at the hollow inside of the helm. It was a horrible stasis for him, to be so close to something like this and yet too fearful to examine it properly. Scrolls containing knowledge in his reach and so many ideas, yet he might be killed if he merely breathed on the parchment. His sword was useless, as demonstrated by the failed escape, while his scientific mind was sufficiently chained by brute force.

"Stone walls do not a prison make, nor iron soldiers a cage," Firouz rambled off to keep his confidence. He edged his way closer to a nearby opened scroll, its printing tantalizing his curiosity. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw the machine's eyes glow with that threatening light and he shied away, frowning. "I have to voice my discomfort for someone who had me forcibly taken here. He shows little hospitality for his guests."

"Forgive the guards, but they were designed for protection rather than entertainment," a cultured voice echoed. Firouz turned, and in a place where there was a solid stone wall, now stood a figure encased in golden metal. "It was I who sent for you."

The man who spoke tilted his head and spread his arms in greeting, causing the royal purple cloak to swirl behind him where it clasped onto his shoulders. It exposed the golden armor fitted over his body. But it was more than just a garment, for the links in the plates seemed to meld where flesh should be, and hinges replacing the joints of elbows and knees. The metallic covering moved flawlessly, however. Not a rusty squeal or clanking noise of any kind as he moved.

Firouz could not keep his curiosity from making him stare agape at the spectacle. The man's face--if you could call it a face--was a smooth mask of bronze, with cables running where the plated jaw met the cheekbones. His mouth was carved into a pursed, and one might think sadistic, opening for him to breathe. The nose was in a Roman fashion, with a narrow bridge that set between two pitch black eyes that stared out from behind the armor. But if Firouz thought he could find humanity there where the smallest glimpse of human skin was exposed, he was wrong. The eyes were empty voids, and nothing but calculation and schemes seemed to reside in his sight. He was no less compassionate than the machines who served him.

The armored man straightened up from his bow and moved with fluid grace towards the awe-struck Firouz. "I am called Lord Cognito, a master scientist in any field you should choose to name. And you, my dear tinkerer, are my honored guest."

Firouz, pulling his gaze away from the workings of the man's suit that normally would have had him poking to see its workings and stood defiantly in front of the towering monstrosity. "What have you done with Maeve?" the inventor demanded, his concern for his friend overriding interest. "Tell me where she is!" Firouz demanded in his most threatening tone, and was overjoyed to find his voice didn't crack.

"Do not worry, she is safe for the time-being." Cognito waved his concern away in that dark voice oiled with unconcern. "I will take good care of her, tinkerer. She's to be part of my grand scheme, a great honor I assure you."

"Scheme? What scheme?! If you've hurt her I swear…"

"You are in no position to swear anything except unwavering allegiance to me," Cognito sneered from beneath the impassive mask. The man paused and straightened himself from the verbal outburst. "Is it some undiagnosed phenomenon for people in your position to ask of the well-being of others? Something against instinct I might look into later. Ah, anyway. I come offering you the greatest honor a man of science such as yourself, could want."

"I want my friend back!" Firouz retorted.

Lord Cognito opened his arms to span the room filled with books and scrolls. "And yet I observed your fidgeting desire to read these works even though you were unaware if your friend was dying in the next room." Firouz sat up in shock and looked to the wall as if it might possibly be true. But his captor revealed nothing to disclaim or help his suggestion. Instead Lord Cognito pointed at him with something resembling pride. "That shows true potential to become my assistant! The unwavering desire to understand what mysteries the universe presents us."

"Point of fact: I would rather admit there's no such thing as natural law than help you with any sort of plot that involves the life of my friend and any other innocents. I was led astray once by the deceit of someone planning conquest, but I won't make the same mistake twice."

Lord Cognito snorted. "Why would I debase myself with the petty concerns of domination over the simpleminded? You insult me, tinkerer. My purpose is to push the limits of scientific knowledge to the brink, solve every answer ever purported to be challenging. Anything besides that are mere formalities."

"Then why have you taken Maeve?"

"Sadly, our technology has yet to advance to a position where it can truly compliment my genius. Fuel sources are scant and inefficient for my mechanized soldiers, and we have yet to develop anything in the way of harnessing the natural world. So, like any other scientist, I expanded my area of inquiry. Magic, while a thoroughly barbaric practice, hoards vast amounts of raw energy that I could wield to my own ends. But to do that, I would need toextract that energy from the practitioner."

"You would kill a magic user just to get at their powers?" Firouz echoed in disgust. "That's why your machines display magical talents...why I can't find out how they were created. Y-y-you have created t-these monsters, these soul less b*****s of magic and science! If you think I'll help you, then you're more insane than I initially thought!"

"You have a true calling to help the world." Cognito paused and something resembling a grin must have crossed his lips underneath the mask. He moved forward and leaned down to face Firouz in the eyes. "If you truly think I am unjust then take the opportunity to help me as an assistant. You can find out how to make the magic work to its utmost limits and the casualties will decrease. We have an opportunity here-"

"I will never help you!" Firouz shouted.

Suddenly, a gauntlet caught the inventor by his collar and raised him off the ground. Firouz gasped as he found himself hanging off the ground and it becoming difficult to breathe. "Do not let your passion override your sense of logic. You find a way to help me in my goals in time, and your friend may not be sucked dry of her magic." Lord Cognito warned callously.

Firouz wheezed and tried to get a sufficient amount of air out of his suspension. "N-n-never for evil ends like yours..."

Lord Cognito sighed and relinquished his hold on the inventor's throat. "As all scientist's know, it's best not to be hasty in your conclusions. I will leave you to mull it over while you acquaint yourself with my documented works. I suggest you limit your endeavors to the manuscripts on the desk since they pertain to your field of logic. The others are so engrossed in the arcane spells you would find little for your mind to find interest. After all, you know that magic has no use except to pave the way for the working of science." He turned and passed the automaton that silently moved out of the villain's way. "Remember, this is the future of events! And you shall be part of it all..."

Firouz restrained another acrid remark. Loosing his temper wouldn't solve anything, so he kept silent and let the armored maniac think he had abandoned the idea of resistance. With a sigh of determination as well as desperation, the inventor turned and began to search the scrolls for something that would help him. After all, knowledge was power in a battle like this. And it seemed that Cognito had an abundance of both...

~~~

Dermott was circling overhead, scanning below as the four men wandered through the forest. Each step they made closer to the shadow of the mountain made the anxiety increase. And Sinbad's determined manner on finding his two lost crewmembers wasn't helping them. Right now even Rongar was wishing for idle chitchat just to not listen to nothingness.

"So what do we do once we get to the base?" Mustapha asked, breaking the quiet, as they walked through the forest, hacking against branches to clear the way.

"We get in through either the passageway or up the cliff. Once inside, we find a lone guard, take him, and force him to tell us where they're holding Maeve and Firouz. Then we get them out and make a run for it." Sinbad said.

"Ah, a foolproof plan, my captain. I wonder how long it took you to figure it all out," Mustapha said sarcastically. "And if we can't get in or climb the hulking rock? What then?"

"I have Firouz's exploding sticks with me," Doubar stated and patted the leather bag he slung over his shoulder. "That should be of some help to break down the door."

"Nice to know how much time we spent on this rescue's planning instead of going off on the spur of the moment and-"

"Mustapha," Sinbad growled in warning. Getting irritated with the short man's sardonic humor that seemed to be aimed at him for the duration of the journey.

Rongar placed a hand on Mustapha's shoulder and shook his head solemnly. The warning was clear in the moor's brown eyes that it wouldn't be wise to provoke the captain in his mood.

"All right, all right," Mustapha replied in an attempted rapprochement. "But I can't help it. I'm worried about the hellion and the scatterbrain." Despite the gruffness in his voice, Mustapha's concern filtered through.

Doubar chuckled, "Be more worried for the villain who had to tangle with those two."

With the last joke the crew let the unease of their captured friends dissolve into laughter. Dermott's screech alerted them all to look ahead and they quieted again. Sinbad swallowed a lump in his throat and turned his attention back to the front of the road. His eyes went wide and he craned his neck up against the skyline to where the feathered scout landed.

"Crew," he asked with trepidation, "What do you make of this...?"

The huge crags positioning at the base were like miniature mountains in and of themselves. The plumb angled surface made any scaling a hopeless task without any crevices for a foothold to climb. But the formidable sight of the mountain wasn't what caught the attention of the four men and hawk, but the large boulder in front of them that marked the entryway.

It was a colossal rock, measuring at least twenty cubits to match height with the forest treetops. The surface of the rock had been sanded down to perfect smoothness however, leaving it a perfect mural for an engraved message scrawled above a giant triangle. The geometric shape covered the bottom half of the boulder, composed of circles linked together. A small reed lay beneath the blank space of the riddle, held in place by two small outcroppings of stone.

Sinbad approached the barrier and traced his fingers across the imprinted rings as he craned his neck upwards, reading the riddle aloud to his crew:

 _"Pythagoras' theorem is void whence my size doubles each line shown_  
And the numbers of my predecessors increase by combinations known  
Save first is the starting point, not prime, but only one still divides  
Combining the second is the original count, the penultimate of both sides  
And two can descend to add the layer beneath my build  
Leave no space of me blank and my riddle is filled…" 

Sinbad finished reading the inscription and looked at the worried faces of his crew. He tried to smile faintly and keep their spirits up. "Well, have any ideas crew?"

"I can't believe it, but I really wish Firouz was here right now," Mustapha said. "He would probably ramble off the answer in a heartbeat."

"Or the lass could break the rock down with one of her spell," Doubar reflected mournfully.

"That is why we're here," Sinbad argued, "to make sure they will be around next time when something like this happens. Now does anyone think they have a guess about this because I want to get into that castle by sundown either by this passageway," --the captain turned and looked up at the straight vertical side of the mountain-- "or climbing if we have to."

Doubar began to groan at the thought but was interrupted. "The only place you'll be at sundown is decaying on the forest floor," a voice challenged from behind Sinbad.

Sinbad placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and turned around. Doubar didn't take the time and drew out his saber. Rongar following suit by slipping out a dirk from his bandoleer while Mustapha tensed beside his friend and turned to see who was bothering them.

Dark figures slunk from behind the trees to collect behind one man who was brazenly standing in the middle of the road behind them. The scars alongside the leader's left side showed he had fought quite often, and the smirk showed he probably enjoyed it. Flanking the smirking fellow, the pack of assassins all drew out their swords and lay waiting for the signal to attack.

"Sahid," Sinbad spat out the lead mercenary's name and pulled out his sword, letting it glint in the rays of sunlight. "I thought you died at Azabajar."

"Could have hoped at least," Doubar muttered under his breath.

"As you can see I'm very much alive, no thanks to you or your brother." Sahid grinned, showing a row of yellowed teeth. "But I'm here to return the favor anyway."

"No thanks," Doubar replied in disdain, "We know what happens to people you do favors for. They always seem to end up dead."

"What can I say? It's a tricky business being a mercenary. But even though I was getting sick of being metal face's lackey, I can honestly say I'm going to enjoy this one job."

The two groups stood silently at the impasse. All men preparing themselves for the possibility of dying, knowing it was the moment before they would charge and go past that irreversible line. Sinbad and Sahid locked eyes in heated glares.

"Shut yer trap and get to fighting, why don't you?" Mustapha growled to Sahid and pulled out his saber, "I want to get some exercise in before I break your boss's face."

Sahid grinned that crooked smile again before signaling his men with a wave. The shadows erupted with the cries of assassins meeting Doubar's own bellows. Up above in the treetops, birds flew from their perches as blades clashed.

~~~

Maeve sat calmly in the middle of her cell with her eyes closed. Her breathing had slowed to half its normal rate and she seemed unaware to the continued glow of the lanterns around her. It was a difficult thing to mediate like this when you're in danger. Even worse with Maeve's impetuousness and penchant for striking out against things she didn't like, particularly megalomaniacs who wanted her dead.

So far, she had been doing well. Maeve had taken great care to emulate Firouz's "scientific method" when it came to being in situations like this. First, she stopped and took a look of her surroundings. When she thoroughly frustrated herself with that since she couldn't find anything worth looking, for she returned back to the center of the room to calm down.

Next, was remembering what you had that could be useful to you. Maeve had placed everything she had in front of her. It was really a pathetic lot once you looked at it. A broadsword without an enemy to swing it at, parchment for spells that won't work in a siphon chamber for magic, some ragweed she had picked up, and that useless little black triangle container...what did Firouz call it? A spectrum scope.

'Great,' Maeve sarcastically thought to herself, 'I can entertain myself with pretty colors while my life is being sucked out of me.'

So after that Maeve thought. She thought long and hard about how she could get out or warn her friends about it. Trying to contact Dermott was useless since their natural rapport was somehow magical and magic didn't work in the confines of her cell. That left matters to be resolved by her own hands.

Needless to say, every time she thought of something it wound up to another dead end. Really, not even a dead start since she couldn't figure how to do anything to get out of this stupid magic trap. It was more of a rock and a hard place. You think and get frustrated, causing your magic to be drained quickly. Or you try not to think about it, which gives you plenty of time to mull over what's going to happen to you. And your magic is still drained, just at a slower rate.

Maeve really was beginning to hate logical thinking.

"Concentrate," Maeve murmured to herself and let any outside worries leave her consciousness. It was time to try again with a slightly cooled head. "Think of a way out."

She let the anger flow out of her so she could think objectively in this matter. Anger was good in a fight but not when levelheaded planning was concerned. So she waited, and she waited...and waited. In alternative to waiting she wished that Firouz were here so he could deal with these stupid matters of science. He'd probably be so excited at the problem he'd forget he was entrapped and in danger. The sorceress sighed, letting the moments continue to pass and hoping for an epiphany that would let her escape. She kept waiting.

'This is hopeless!' she shouted inwardly in frustration and felt her magic spark in defense to her emotions, causing an aura to glow around her. Maeve opened her eyes just in time to see the lighted rocks continuing at their usual annoying brightness, but she felt something waver in the air. Like the unnatural chill you get before something happens. The lights didn't stop their glow but something happened to them a few seconds ago, something magical.

Before she was able to mutter something rather vulgar an idea struck. It was almost like Firouz tapping her on the shoulder and beginning to explain things, but she could understand it! Maeve snatched up the small triangle box. 'Spectrum scope,' Maeve's mind supplied instantly. If she were not so intent on figuring out the plan in her mind, she would have been a little surprised at how easily it was coming to her.

The words rambled off like her friend would say with a new invention. 'A spectrum scope can't show regular light, right? All it does is show the full spectrum since there isn't a specific frequency for it to hold. But light created from magic isn't like normal light, it responds to the intensity of the user.'

Maeve cradled the invention in her hands and wondered, 'So if this thing can pretty much show you magic. The main riddle is: how does it help you?'

Maeve put the spectrum scope to her eye and tried to form a fireball. It would drain her more quickly, but if there was a chance she could learn from this... "It's for the greater good of science," Maeve spoke, sounding disturbingly like Firouz as she conjured up the spark.

The scope reacted to the magic. Beams of yellow and orange filled the left side of her vision. Maeve continued to try and maintain the fireball, but she felt the drain as the chamber sucked the open magic away from her. The scope proved it as the yellow and orange faded to red and then out of view.

Maeve sucked in a breath and tried to steady herself. She turned to one of the chamber's torches, which she had come to assume was the main problem. She didn't need magic senses to tell her that, just common sense. The scope showed colors in bands of violet, blue, and green. The higher frequencies had those colors on the right side, she remembered, and that meant powerful magic.

The sorceress began to feel a tint of frustration hit her. This chamber had more power protecting it than she did in her whole body. Frustration made Maeve angry, and when Maeve was angry, things tended to blow up. Maeve muttered a curse under her breath and threw a magical beam against the wall. Obviously, the siphoning chamber absorbed the attack, but when Maeve was about the chuck the spectrum scope at her same target, she noticed something.

The pattern of green, blue, and violet fluctuated. It became deep purple and then retreated to orange. After three seconds the entire spectrum lit up in the light. At first, made Maeve just more furious that she couldn't even weaken it, but Firouz's voice from this morning, when they were arguing, interrupted. "But it can't work with sources like sunlight, Maeve. There are too many factors to make an accurate hypothesis for such a primitive design."

This declaration meant one of two things. One, she had done something very wrong and broke the scope. Or, two, she had just found her way out.

Maeve repeated her experiment and found that the strange torches reacted the same way after five seconds. That meant that every five seconds after Maeve used a large portion of her magic the room siphoning her powers would shut down for a split second to repair the flux, leaving her barricades defenseless to magic and Maeve free to attack.

The sorceress picked up her sword from where it lay on the ground as well as retrieving anything else she had on the floor. Figuring out a problem was all well and good but she wouldn't know if she was right until she tried it out, now would she?

A small glow came across Maeve's eyes as she gathered her power. The breath seemed to leave her lungs as it was forcibly taken from her body and Maeve had to keep from screaming. Her knees began to buckle and Maeve used her sword to keep her steady. When she let the chamber take enough of her power to make it shut down Maeve closed her eyes and began to count.

"One..."

Her sword lifted up off the ground.

"Two..."

Maeve thought over her plan for the final time and prayed it would work.

"Three..."

She set up her stance in front of the wall, still glowing with its defense barrier.

"Four..."

The sword trembled and pulled back in preparation to strike.

"Five! Tsuyomaru ken!" Maeve shouted out a spell that would increase her blade's strength before she clashed against the wall. The blue aura around her sword crashed and exploded against the stone. It was like an explosion where whole chamber lit up to a blinding whiteness before dying down again. The radiance was awesome, and then it faded.

Maeve knelt beside the wall, her body exhausted from the effort of it all. She looked up and saw her cage's wall still standing. All that work...for nothing. Something caught her eye and Maeve picked herself up from wallowing in self-pity. A long gash about five meters wide and a meter long was carved into the wall, leaving a niche a few inches deep ingrained on the wall.

Maeve smiled faintly at her success and began to glow again. "One..."

~~~

"A little help here, Rongar!" Doubar grunted in annoyance as he slammed two of the assassins' heads together. The men groaned as unconsciousness followed before Doubar unceremoniously dropped them and went on to tackle the next few. He looked up to see the moor about to be ambushed from behind. With no time to assist Doubar bellowed, "Rongar look out!"

The silent moor was too busy trying to understand the engraving on the wall to assist his friends in their continued fight with Sahid and his mercenaries. But when serious danger threatened Rongar turned and drew two dirks from his bandoleer. The moor wasted no time chucking them out at two charging assassins, striking them both in the chest. They fell to the ground and remained still. Satisfied that they were out of the fight for good, Rongar returned once again to his position by the boulder.

"Just perfect," the first mate muttered as he kicked an incoming assailant. "Now, he decides to use his brains instead of his knives."

"Give him a chance," Mustapha grunted before disarming his opponent. He turned to the moor, "My friend, are you sure this is a wise choice? An extra man in an uneven fight makes all the difference."

The familiar sound of a hawk's screech and a man's scream cut through the air. One man was certainly not going to be looking forward to tangling with them again, if he could look at all.

"Or a hawk," Doubar guffawed loudly.

"It's a good idea," Sinbad called to them as he and Sahid traded blows. The lead mercenary was by far the most formidable of the group and the two were evenly matched. Sinbad swung high before continuing, "In an uneven match, an added sword may help but a way to escape is better."

"You're not going to escape before I slit yer throat!" Sahid screamed and lunged at an opening in Sinbad's defense.

"Why? Don't like my conversation?" Sinbad jibed and deflected the blade, using Sahid's momentum to push him fully though the lunge. The captain pivoted to avoid the sword's edge when beside him, tripping Sahid by his feet. "I'm truly hurt."

Sahid rolled from where he lay on the ground and swung wildly to literally cut Sinbad's feet out from under him. The captain jumped away and Sahid stood up again. Both returned to their previous fighting stances with swords wavering and stamina eroding.

Sahid muttered a word under his breath that Sinbad couldn't discern, but was probably sure it was directed towards him and involved lots of blood and pain. The mercenary growled, "I won't let you make a fool of me like you did at Azabajar."

"You didn't need my help." Sinbad replied.

Sahid muttered another curse and kicked the dust of the forest trail at Sinbad. The captain didn't anticipate the move and cried out as dirt blinded his eyes. Sinbad's free arm tried to wipe the grit out of his vision while the other arm tried to fend off an assailant blindly. But Sahid would not let an advantage like that go unanswered and swung his scimitar with all of his might to send it careening out of Sinbad's grip.

Sinbad finally got the dirt out of his eyes, only to find he was weaponless. Sahid lunged and swung at Sinbad's chest, causing the captain to leap back into a crouch.

"You wouldn't mind me taking a break from this unfair fight, would you?" Sinbad panted breathlessly as he tried to sidle near his sword.

Sahid screamed and swung where Sinbad's hand was reaching. The mercenary leader was zealously keeping Sinbad from retrieving his sword, trying to take off any of Sinbad's limbs in the process. Sinbad looked around for another, catching Rongar's attention. Sahid screamed again and started to swing his executioner's blow from where Sinbad was crouched.

A glint of steel flew across the forest as Sinbad caught Rongar's sword and used it to block the oncoming fatal blow.

"Thanks Rongar, I owe you one," Sinbad muttered and pushed Sahid's blade off of his.

A light seemed to sparkle in the moor's dark eyes and Rongar turned back to the boulder. He hurriedly picked up the reed and began to scratch the number one on the outside circles of the pyramid. Rongar's hands became a blur as he continued to scratch the numbers, hitting each circle with precision and quickness like he was throwing his darts again. Like he knew exactly what he was doing.

The rows soon were filling up in orders of, six, fifteen, twenty, fifteen, and on. They grew to twenty-eight, thirty-six, and seventy. Every passing second seemed to let Rongar move faster as he discovered the secret and proceeded to the lower rows. After a minute the entire pyramid was filled with numbers, random at first glance and then the awareness that there was some code beneath it. The moor reached up on his tiptoes and scratched the final number one on the apex of the slate.

As soon as the reed lifted off the stone a loud grinding was heard. The clash of rock against rock made Rongar step back in surprise as the numbered circles descended into niches behind their markings, leaving empty circular holes. The pyramid seemingly collapsed in on itself with the lines connecting the holes, swallowing the remaining granite and left an open triangular passageway. Rongar smiled in satisfaction and waved to Mustapha who had just finished his previous opponent.

The scruffy sailor turned to his companions and shouted, "Hey you guys! Rongar opened the passageway!"

The mercenaries still standing from the conflict seemed to lose whatever resolution they had on continuing the fight. Those that could still run did so in haste, leaving the dead and unconscious behind. Sahid screamed in fury calling taunts and curses to his deserted troops.

"You cowards! Sons of goats who still suckle your mother's tits!" Sahid ranted, "A thousand deaths be upon you for deserting your leader!"

"Still want to fight?" Sinbad asked, his own sword in hand, with the rest of the crew flanking him.

Sahid turned back, a rabid snarl on his lips. "Those superstitious cowards have deserted me in fear of our patron for good reason. If you enter that passageway, you won't survive." The mercenary leader picked up a dagger from one of his dead men and chucked it at Sinbad's feet. Sinbad didn't flinch. "But if you do manage to survive like the lucky mongrel you are, count on seeing me again."

Without another word Sahid turned and ran, disappearing into the trees the same way his men did.

"I wish you had finished him off, little brother," Doubar muttered and moved through the passageway first. He set foot down in a gravel entrance, the cavern opening to a larger vein. "People like that always come back to haunt you."

Sinbad looked up and let Dermott fly through to perch on an outcropping. The bird chirped as if to tell them to hurry and Sinbad smiled faintly at the sight. "What's more important? Making sure that man is dead or our two friends are still alive?"

"I know, I know," the large man conceded, "I would do anything to get those two out first, but I still can't help but hope that he gets in the way of my sword as we do. He's too dangerous to be left free."

"Understood," Sinbad said and continued to lead them down the passageway. The cavern's rocky surface began to smooth out, and the surroundings became distinctly man-made. The walls were smoothed down and polished. A level floor of panels was constructed underneath the disappearing gravel that spiraled upwards to a lighted opening.

"Whoever lives here has a lot of gold to spend," Mustapha remarked at the tapestries that began to cover the walls more frequently. Rongar stepped beside his friend and looked warily at the pictures on the cloths. The moor shook his head and turned Mustapha away from it.

"What I want to know is why those mercenaries left us in the lurch," Doubar mumbled. "They work for this guy but they don't even go inside to collect their payments? It doesn't add up!" To emphasis his point the first mate banged on the nearby wall.

A loud echoing band resounded through the hallway. The rest of the Nomad crew stopped in their tracks. Sinbad and Doubar exchanged looks as the echo became louder.

"What the blazes is that?" Doubar remarked.

"You probably set some alarm off, big guy," Mustapha grumbled, "Why can't you ever learn the meaning of the word 'discreet'?"

Rongar inched forward and unsheathed a dirk. The moor face was set in a solemn stare, the one preparing for battle. It was silent reaction of his friends to draw their swords in turn. The clanking still rang, new strikes against the floor increasing so the crew could barely hear over the din. A glint of gold against metal as something rounded the corner aroused their suspicions and all the men took cover. It was a good thing they had already hidden themselves in shadows for what sight greeted them made every one of them stand still in shock.

The metal soldiers that had taken Maeve and Firouz clanked down the hallway with their eyes glowing in that unholy light. Suddenly, the battalion stopped in front of the corridor the Nomad crew was hiding in. The leader turned and picked up his pace, heading straight for where Rongar stood.

"Now men!" Sinbad shouted as the four charged into the ranks.

The Moor started first by ramming a dagger into his opponent's "left eye". The machine whirred distractedly in response. Rongar smiled faintly before he felt the automaton's hands reach up and grab his arms, one eye still glowing balefully as it pulled him close and rammed the Moor against the wall.

Mustapha slipped away from the one machine he was trying to keep at bay with his sword and ran to Rongar's aid. The shorter man threw his weight into the machine's knee joint. He was hoping to catch it off balance and topple it but it proved about as useful as throwing yourself against a metal pole. The remaining machines grabbed Mustapha from his vulnerable position on the floor and picked him up in their inescapable clutches.

"Get off of me you scrap metal rejects!" Mustapha growled and tried to squirm his way out of their hold. He tried to pry the immovable metal fingers away from his arm. "I'm going to tear you apart just on principle when I get out of this!"

Doubar would have laughed had he heard it, but the burly man caught a deafening blow to his ear and one side of his face was beginning to leak out blood. Three of the machines were ganging up on him in an almost strategic move since Doubar was supposedly the biggest threat of the crew for his strength.

The first mate took out Firouz's satchel and began to swing it around like a sling. He caught one of the machines on the head and it staggered back from the loss of balance. Doubar chuckled despite the blood trickling over his left eye. "Now this is an invention of Firouz's I can understand!"

Sinbad looked on to see his crew decimated by the machines in such easy strides. The captain had flung himself deepest in the imbroglio, throwing kicks and swings trying to provoke them away from his friends. But they didn't follow his bait the way other opponents did, and he soon found himself able to only defend himself.

"Big brother!" Sinbad shouted in concern to where the three automatons had backed Doubar up into a corner. He had given up in swinging the satchel and now resorted to the force his broken cutlass could do against their armored skin.

Darting away from the machine trying to grab him, Sinbad leapt with a two-footed kick to knock one of the machines down and give Doubar a way out. The ploy worked, and Doubar ran through the temporary opening. He took one of the machine's arms and swung it hard into the wall, hearing a satisfying clang as the collision left the machine staggering.

"Get back," Doubar ordered in one of the rare moments he let his big brother instincts take over. The first mate was in more pain than his movements let on as he pushed Sinbad back from the close quarters the machines were pushing them into. Sinbad was about to push his brother's guiding hand away at the sight of Mustapha's limp body but instead retreated to Doubar's side.

"We can't take them in these close quarters," Sinbad muttered in frustration, "We better go back and pull them out in the open if we're going to do anything…" his voice trailed off and he stared at Rongar and Mustapha as they were hoisted to be taken away.

Doubar forcefully yanked his brother back, taunting the machines to follow. The first mate resolved that he would not let them take his little brother, even if Sinbad disagreed.

~~~

Meanwhile, at the base of the mountain, Arlin had just arrived to the open passageway and the corpses of dead mercenaries scattered on the forest floor. He scowled in disgust and put a cloth to his face as if the festering smell had already begun to overwhelm him. The cloth also managed to partially conceal the informant trembling in fear as well. Not fear that the ruthless gang of Sahid had been beaten with no casualties on the other side, but what his master might do to him since the men made it inside. Who could have guessed the damned silent one was a mathematician?

"Milord will not be pleased. Not in the least," he whispered aloud, voicing his fears in a huge understatement, as he moved inside the cavern. Arlin automatically turned around and waved his hand along the surface and spoke aloud, "Erase."

The boulder rolled obediently back into its previous spot covering the opening. At least he would be credited for sealing their way back. He was the only one who could leave the fortress if he so pleased. So even if they managed to break away from Lord Cognito's guards, a huge improbability anyway with the witch and upstart already taken, the crew of Sinbad would be trapped inside.

Arlin almost felt a pang of sadness for the people before shaking it off. He might be late and Lord Cognito demanded punctuality in the strictest sense.

~~~

"We should have been able to see the tunnel's opening by now," Sinbad said as the brothers continued to run. Sinbad stopped and looked as if he would turn back before colliding with a figure who was keeping to the walls. The man stumbled to the floor, shedding some light on his figure.

"Arlin?" Doubar questioned and picking the man up. "What are you doing here?"

"I-I-I-I was j-just…" the man stuttered.

Sinbad looked back at the closed passageway and it finally sunk in. The captain snatched Arlin from Doubar with a strength the first mate didn't know he had. "You sealed the passageway! You sold us out, traitorous wretch!"

"I'm just his scout, I swear!" Arlin whimpered. "I find magic users for my lord and others to the rest! It was for my life!"

"You lead him to Maeve…" Sinbad seethed and cocked his fist back. A metal gauntlet latched on before he could follow through and tore him away from ripping Arlin apart.

Sinbad hit the floor and rolled, he gained the wherewithal to bring his momentum into a tuck and land crouching. Doubar had already barreled into the ranks with a thunderous growl, throwing his brute strength into keeping them away. But he couldn't hold against so many for so long and they forced him back, separating him from Sinbad and pushing him back to the closed passageway.

"Take these, little brother," Doubar grunted and tossed the satchel into Sinbad's arms before one kicked the first mate down. Sinbad moved to save him and an automaton moved to catch him, but Doubar would have none of it. The first mate leapt and threw his arms around the machine's shoulders, trying to pull its head off. Doubar's eyes, one covered with blood, turned to his little brother with a scolding glare.

"Go or I'll pummel you myself!"

Sinbad felt his chest tighten as he turned away from the sight. He slid under the legs of the remaining guards with the precious exploding sticks and ran to the open passage that led further into the depths of the fortress. The captain couldn't bring himself to look back.

~~~

Firouz was bent over the scrolls, reading the formulas with an urgent zeal that surpassed his regular enthusiasm for knowledge. Being in a life-threatening situation always drove you a little more. But the surprising thing was that they were not the scrolls that contained Lord Cognito's designs. They were hitherto something that Firouz would have never dreamt of looking through. The magic spells.

Using deductive reasoning, Firouz assumed Lord Cognito was smart enough to realize that he would try something to escape. Certainly he would, staying helpless was something you learn never to do in Sinbad's crew! He had checked, and all the plans Cognito gave him were purely formula and hypothesis, nothing viable. But one thing Firouz learned was that the chaotic variable in an experiment always proves the most trouble. In translation for the layman, doing what your enemy never expects you to do always yields better results than the predictable.

The inventor glanced to see if the guard was reacting to his actions. A moment ago the machine's eyes lit up in response to an unspoken order, but it remained standing in front of him. Firouz decided he would be prepared for the eventuality when it would come and snatch him up. And since he was without his exploding sticks, left in Doubar's care, and his new acid, taken to who knows where, the only materials he had left to use were the clothes on his back and his wit.

The spell Firouz was examining was a basic one, he recognized Maeve performing a variation of it in the beginning of the voyage for a refresher course after Dim-Dim was lost. The spell just required a focused mind and a linguistic tongue to pronounce it, no innate magical talents. And since his body was obviously not adapted to magic usage, Firouz was very happy about that. It basically allowed a person to invoke natural magic into some sort of object for use. Nothing major could come from it, and no complex spells could be cast, but it was something he could use better than his sword.

Provided that it actually worked.

"Tinkerer," Lord Cognito's voice sounded, causing Firouz to jump and roll the scroll up frantically. The armored figure stepped through the door with an air that made even the mechanical guard look fearful of him. Firouz swallowed a lump in his throat and prayed fervently that he wasn't her to announce Maeve's demise.

Lord Cognito leaned over to examine the scrolls, all science related except for the one Firouz was reading. "I see you've been working...good. All the more beneficial for the welfare of your friends."

"Friends?" Firouz said, his face turning ashen.

Cognito turned and Firouz could have sworn he saw the mask contort in a smile. "Oh, you weren't informed yet. My guards have just arrested some trespassers, members of the Nomad crew correct?"

"You're lying..."

"On the contrary, I'm always truthful. Lies impede finding the correct solution." Cognito threw the shattered blade of Doubar's cutlass on the table, sending papers flying. "Proof for my doubtful assistant."

"What do you want?" Firouz murmured and squeezed his eyes shut to the evidence on the table.

"Everything," Cognito replied with relish. "I want every invention, every idea that ever crossed that curly head of yours...or your friends will be the recipients of one of my experiments. I have many so you needn't worry that they'll all die in the same manner. Their death will be quicker than the sorceress's demise, so you better hasten with your compliance before I loose my patience."

"What's to stop you from killing my friends once I've told you everything I know? And once your experiments are finished what's to stop you from killing me?"

"Nothing tinkerer," Lord Cognito replied with no emotion whatsoever, "that is precisely why I will do so as soon as we are finished."

Firouz whirled around to face his captor. "Then I won't cooperate with you! Why bother if all you are going to do is kill us all?"

"Because I know about your petty little concerns for the others' lives. You would do as I say if it bought your friends more time to escape. Hope is part of your irrational flaws that prevent you from becoming a true scientific genius like myself. It's what makes you disappointingly human. You may serve a purpose for me right now but I can make do without you. It's just more efficient this way."

"You monster…" Firouz fumed in a soft voice. The inventor's hand clenched in anger, flexing as if to attack. "You perverted, twisted form of everything science stands for!"

Lord Cognito shook his head like a reproving mother might to a child. "For your intelligence in science you are profoundly stupid when it comes to reality. I am the only one who sees the purity of it all, who is unrestricted by your foolish notions of morality and ethics. That is why you serve me and I rule you. Because you are still closing your eyes and ears to the truth of my words."

Firouz could not stand his cruel pragmatism any longer. An unexpected cry of bravado came from his mouth as he awkwardly charged forward in an attempt to throw the man to the ground. Cognito sighed and sidestepped the infuriated inventor, grasping one of his hands in his gauntlet and squeezing the appendage tightly as Firouz stumbled beside him.

The curly-haired man screamed in pain and crumpled to the floor. He felt the bones of his knuckles yield to the powerful iron grip. Firouz clawed at the hand in desperation before Cognito relinquished it with an air of distaste.

"There is no need to grovel before me," Cognito said calmly before withdrawing his hand back into the folds of his cloak. Firouz whimpered softly to himself, cradling the crippled limb in a defeated heap. "Your service is enough for now. Now I must leave and check on my subjects, clean up the lab while I'm gone. Then I will see if your friends are up to my experiments."

All Firouz could do was lie there as Cognito left him to watch helplessly while the armored lord attended to the rest of the crew's fate. He clutched his medallion, the first honor he ever received from his work on science and tried to remember the incantation Maeve spoke, the words slow and clumsy on his lips, "Inficio materia cum magus cessum timor."

The medallion began to glow brightly in response.

Sinbad kept running down the corridor. His blue eyes never left Dermott as the hawk swerved through the small enclosure. Partly he knew, because if he looked back Sinbad most certainly would have turned and gone back to save his friends. Doubar's wishes be damned. The satchel filled with Firouz's exploding sticks banged against his shoulder with every alternate step.

'I could have used them back there,' Sinbad berated himself, 'Could have saved them.'

The captain blinked back any tears he might have and focused on the task at hand. He looked up at Dermott, knowing the hawk was feeling the same way he was about all of this, if not more so. "Dermott," Sinbad called out, "Can you find Maeve?"

The hawk chirped, tucking his wings in tightly to veer off to a corner. Sinbad followed only to see Dermott stop and perch on a torch's brace, staring with his piercing gaze at the wall. The captain stopped as well and looked where Dermott was staring. It was just a stone wall, no door or anything to hold someone in. "Dermott, why did you stop? What's the matter?"

Dermott chirped again, more insistently this time. Sinbad neared closer to the wall and placed his hand against it. There were no hidden cracks that he could make out anywhere. It was a completely ordinary wall. Sinbad looked back at the hawk questioningly and Dermott screeched to him. The captain was about to open his mouth to protest when he overheard a faint noise, like scraping.

Sinbad knelt against the wall and placed his ear to it, listening attentively for anything else. The scraping became louder and there was a faint ringing that made Sinbad recoil in confusion. Dermott screeched again, definitely in warning this time. Sinbad caught a small beam of light seeping through a crack in the wall that wasn't there a moment ago. Normally, he would have investigated this further but some instinct told the captain that now would be the more opportune time to retreat.

Another crack split through the rock and Sinbad stumbled back. The slashes of light became brighter and soon grew to a blinding intensity that had the captain raise his arms to shield his eyes. The light pushed against the stone and Sinbad spun around, realizing that something 'explosive' was about to happen. The wall blew up, sending chunks of stone flying.

Dermott chirped from where he was perched and sailed into the dust cloud that was created from the explosion. Sinbad looked up to see a familiar silhouette standing in the rubble with Dermott on their arm. "My sweet Dermott! Have you come to rescue me?"

If the proud stance of the person didn't give her identity away the voice did.

"Maeve!" Sinbad cried in relief and ran to where the sorceress was standing unsteadily by the remains of the wall. The captain coughed in the loose dust of the rubble but he didn't care as he raced to her, stopping only within arms reach. "Are you all right?"

"I wasn't going to wait around for you and the others to save me now was I?" Maeve replied breathlessly with a wry grin, her usual bravado for any dangerous situation coming to the foreground. Dermott, satisfied that his mistress was fine, flew off of her wrist to give them some space. "Nothing for you to worry about."

Sinbad stared at her in concern, blue eyes meeting brown for a moment before Maeve swayed from fatigue and halfway collapsed where she stood. The captain instinctively moved to catch her in his arms, holding her up alongside him. "You're not fine, Maeve. That escape must have taken more out of you than you originally thought."

"I know what it took out of me," Maeve replied and looked up at him. Her face flushed before she pushed away from him when she regained her balance. "It's the fact that none of it seems to be returning to me that's what has me worried."

"I don't understand."

"I used magic to escape, Sinbad. And though it takes a lot out of me, I can always feel it returning to me. Using magic is like catching your breath after running for a long distance but this time..." The Celt trailed of in her words and bit her lip in concern.

"Is it permanent?"

Maeve cast her eyes down. "I don't know. It could be…"

"I-" Sinbad stopped, thinking the words he might say would only offend her. Comfort was not something easily held by the spitfire sorceress. She glanced up at him with her brown eyes in wait. The captain gulped and tried to get off the subject. "Where's Firouz?"

"He isn't with you or the others?" Maeve asked worriedly.

"We met some of those metal guards in the hallway," Sinbad recalled in bitter tone and looked off down the empty corridor. "I was the only one to escape."

"We have to go after them," Maeve announced and began to walk down the hallway.

Sinbad caught her arm and pulled her back with a tug. "Not just the two of us, and you without your magic."

Maeve shrugged off his grip and sent him a baleful glare. "I can still handle a sword can't I? Or do you believe me incapable of helping our friends without my magic and spells?"

"It's not like that Maeve!" Sinbad tried to explain. "Those mechanical monsters took out Doubar, Rongar, and Mustapha without breaking their pace. We don't have that much of a chance against them just the two of us! I say we find Firouz and use his exploding sticks to do some damage against them. We can free our friends and then find the grandmaster of this whole nefarious plot."

"Let's just hope they'll still be alive when we find them," Maeve murmured and slipped her broadsword in its sheath. Her eyes clouded over at the thought of seeing her friends go through the same torment she went through.

"They will, Maeve." Sinbad smiled, trying hard to give her some amount of assurance he didn't feel as they began to make their way down the stone corridor side by side, not knowing where it would take them. "I promise you."

~~~

Lord Cognito watched the exchange between Maeve and Sinbad as the started to make their way through his labyrinth of halls. He sighed and shut off the light coming in through his viewing screen. "I loathe such statement of affection," he murmured in disgust, "and I especially hate it when it is coming from a specimen that should still be in the chamber if not for the incompetence of my associate who gave her the means to escape."

Arlin felt his stomach churn as the armored figure turned to face him. "It-it-it's not my fault. I was merely trying to gain her trust with that spectrum scope of yours. I did not possibly think she could find out about the…"

Arlin's explanation trailed off as Lord Cognito's piercing black eyes--the singular human aspect in his façade of cold machine--bore into the informant. "You remember what I said about failure, didn't you my courier? That there were rewards for your shortcomings that I would have to compensate for?"

"N-n-no sire. Please don't kill me, I beg of you!" Arlin shouted frantically and knelt before the impassive scientist.

"Begging appeals only to emotion," Lord Cognito intoned and grabbed Arlin by the jaw, forcing the man to stand again as his gauntlet gripped tightly around the bone, "--and I have none to appeal. But do not fear, I have not the time to dispose of you in the manner I would be satisfied with." Arlin sighed in relief and relaxed to Lord Cognito's hold. In that split second of relief the armored dictator squeezed the jaw, causing bone to snap under such pressure and silencing Arlin's scream with a inundation of blood that gurgled from his throat. Lord Cognito dropped the corpse from his hand, letting it fall into a gory mess on the floor.

"But that does mean I will dispose of you nonetheless."

The madman turned away from the gory mass on the floor. "This is an alert to all mobile units. There are intruders on the premises. Execute on sight."

Without fail, each of his guards would leave their posts to track those two down. Overkill by logical means but the specimens were beginning to vex him and he had only so much magnanimity, which Arlin had been sorely depleted in his neglect in alerting him to the redhead's...uncooperative actions. Now, two meddlesome test subjects were loose in his maze with Firouz soon to be discovered. Cognito sighed. If there was something to be done it would have to be by his own means.

He looked back to see the two being guided by the hawk, an aimless choice but unfortunately one that would inevitably lead to Firouz's discovery. It would be a waste, but Firouz would have to be destroyed along with his friends the way things were shaping up. The blank face didn't reveal Lord Cognito's suppressed frustration to it all. A rare thought of emotion crossed his mind at the prospect of letting them see each other before he killed them both. He would most likely--what was the word?--enjoy personally disposing of Firouz.

~~~

It was a curious predicament for Firouz to see the metal guard that had been immovable in blocking the door retreat from his post with no warning. One moment there the gargantuan behemoth was there, the next it had opened the door as if to excuse itself and leave Firouz alone to study.

The inventor moved to the door warily, fearful of a trap set if he reacted. The recited spell Maeve used earlier--was it really just this morning--to take out an automaton. He wasn't sure that the incantation was right but then he never had a chance to properly test it.

Of course he didn't have a chance as Lord Cognito stepped in with that stifling arrogant air he seemed to cover with himself the same way the armor did. "I'm afraid I must terminate you because of the complications," Lord Cognito stated quietly with his arms crossed behind his back. "Unfortunately, with the mischief making your friends are doing and your own uncooperative manner, you are becoming more of a burden than an asset."

"My friends?"

"Dealt with momentarily," the metal man dismissed. He pulled one gauntlet out from the folds of his robes and flexed the fingers as he approached Firouz. "I will miss what knowledge you could have provided for my revolution, Tinkerer. Good-bye."

Firouz ducked as his adrenaline kicked in to help him escape. His friends were still alive and he could get out with the help of his spell. The inventor reached down and brandished his medallion at Lord Cognito. "Increpito caeci et productim!"

Nothing happened. Lord Cognito chuckled, "Perhaps if you conjugate the verb?"

Firouz felt a wave of despair fall over him. He would die now because he never paid enough attention to the magical counterpart of the world. Maeve's scolding look burned in his memory. Firouz held his medallion back up again, and chanting in a voice that mixed with the memory of the sorceress's cried out, "Increpito caecus et productum!"

A blinding light shot out of his medallion and shone in Lord Cognito's eyes. The villain screamed and covered his eyes with his hands as Firouz darted out of the room. Firouz turned the corner sharply, tripping over something lying beside it. There was a breaking sound and when Firouz scrambled up he saw his foot catch on a leather strap. His inventions!

The inventor fumbled to pull the bag over his shoulder. It was cumbersome; already clinking with the shards of broken glass and dripping wet from the acid as it began to eat away at the leather. Judging from the remains there wasn't much he could use.

Firouz got up and ran.

~~~

"Where do you suppose this leads to?" Maeve asked, as Sinbad trust the ready-made torch into the dark entrance. It was the Celt who moved first, as she demanded during their search, to explore the place.

The sight she saw made Maeve regret her stubborn decision. Maeve turned away in disgust, her brow twitching to control her horror. The sorceress put her hand up to her mouth to contain anything that she couldn't keep down. In the short time she looked, she knew who it was.

"Poor Arlin..."

"Arlin?" Sinbad seethed and held the torch up to see the gory remains of Lord Cognito's assistant. His blue eyes turned to Maeve who was obviously trying not to show her discomfort. At once, the hate he had for the man subsided to what her memory of him was, and knew he wouldn't shatter that image, no matter how false, needlessly. Sinbad gently put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry Maeve."

Maeve nodded silently. "We better keep going." She pulled out a little black box, triangular in shape, and laid it on the man's chest before turning to walk away. "Thanks for the use of your gadget. I wish it could have helped you as much as it did me."

Sinbad lingered in the dark room, stepping back to let Maeve pass him by. The sorceress made it just out of the doorway when another figure collided into her. Maeve reacted first, swinging the form into the ground so she could trap them. The sorceress pulled her fist back when she heard a muffled groan that sounded suspiciously familiar.

Sinbad lifted his torch up, "Firouz?"

"Sinbad..." the inventor groaned in a mixture of pain and relief. "Under normal circumstances I would be happy to see you again, likewise with you, Maeve." He paused for a moment and did a double take. "Maeve! Thank the stars you're all right!"

Maeve hastily got off of Firouz and pulled him up. The Celt still looked shaken, but relieved as well. Sinbad moved between them, pulling the bag filled with the exploding sticks and handed them to Firouz. "I think these belong to you."

Firouz looked down at the bag along with his damp one. "Thank goodness these are safe! I knew Doubar would take good care of them, despite his impatience with my explanations."

Sinbad coughed a little and Maeve gave him a sympathetic look. "That's a problem--"

"Oh! Dear me, I can't believe I forgot in the excitement!" Firouz stammered, "We have to get out of here now!"

"Guards on your tail?"

"Worse," Firouz tugged on both their arm's with a fearful pleading in his voice. "It's Cognito himself. We have to leave, now! Please!"

Maeve took a step back and her eyes widened. The sorceress immediately drew her hand to the hilt of her broadsword in a sign of assurance. Sinbad caught the action out of the corner of his eye.

"Maeve, is Dermott still scouting around the area for guards?" Sinbad asked.

"Yes. Of course he is, what's that got to do with anything?"

"I want you two to go and find the others. I'm going to confront this 'Cognito' and blow him sky-high with Firouz's exploding sticks." Sinbad winced at the automatic protests coming from both of them and held a hand out to silence them. "It's my decision. I can work this out alone."

"These are my inventions, Sinbad," Firouz pressed, "I have the right to come along and I will not be sheltered from any battles you plan on facing!"

"Well, I can't stop you, can I? And you have the exploding sticks." Sinbad mused, tilting his head. "Just promise me, old friend, that you'll keep back and out of harm's way."

"Hey!" Maeve cried, indignant. "You are not going to leave me behind either!"

"Wrong Maeve," Sinbad turned around. "Only Dermott could find them in time, and you're the only one with a direct link to him. You will find Doubar, Mustapha and Rongar; that is a direct order."

"Don't you dare try to protect me!"

"I'm not protecting you! I'm deciding how I can best help my crew! Now, I expect you to find them quicker than we can, so get going!" Maeve fumed, but despite her resentment she knew some part of Sinbad's speech was right. Goddess, she hated when he was right. The sorceress spun around on her heel and marched off, calling out, "Och! You better be alive when I see you next sailor because I'm going to kill you for that!"

Firouz chuckled faintly. "One day Sinbad, you are going to push Maeve past her patience for you and she's going to knock you unconscious or worse."

Sinbad laughed, trying to relief some of the tension at the parting. He kept his eyes on Maeve for just a second longer, as if it was the last time he might see her, before turning away. "Perhaps, but I can't think of a better way to die."

"How about not at all?" Firouz offered.

~~~

Dermott chirped before circling around the domed ceiling. Maeve looked down from the parapet to see her three friends bound on some experimenting tables with, thankfully, no guards watching over them. The merry chase she and Sinbad led must have persuaded Cognito to risk unguarded prisoners.

Maeve made her way down the passage to where they were kept with the same care just in case a guard could stumble in unannounced. When she reached the open space, the Celt ran beside Doubar's table, the one closest to her, and pulled out a small pick to open the lock. "Boy, am I glad to see you."

"Lass!" Doubar cried happily as he turned his head, "We were so worried about you!"

"Likewise with that gash. What happened to you?" Maeve asked in astonishment to the already dried blood that marred his left side. She reached over as if to touch it but then decided to focus on her friend's manacles.

"Nice to see you too, Maeve. We're fine by the way," Mustapha called out sarcastically.

"Oh I'm sorry," Maeve said in concern while she finished picking the first of Doubar's locks. She moved over to the other side where Rongar and Mustapha lay and turned to the Moor. "Rongar? Are you okay my friend?"

The Moor smiled in appreciation and nodded as Maeve worked on his shackles while Doubar strained to pull the rest of his own off with brute strength. Mustapha shot his friend a dirty look but Rongar just shrugged that it wasn't his fault.

"Where's Sinbad and Firouz?" Doubar grunted, tugging at his other arm restraint.

Maeve's face fell. "Hurry up and get yourselves out of there. They're trying to buy us some time while they fight Cognito."

"Alone?! In the seven seas what possessed you to leave them!"

"Sinbad ordered me to!" Maeve snapped angrily, not wishing to go into details of the rest of her ordeal. "And he's a stubborn fool when it comes to orders, as you well know."

Doubar tugged off his leg shackle in one effort. "Then what are we waiting for?"

~~~

"Why is it that the revolutionary thinkers are so misunderstood?" Lord Cognito sighed and threw a blast of explosive pellets from his hand for the first attack. They were like ball bearings but had the same destructive force of Firouz's sticks, as proven by the mushroom cloud of flame against the wall.

Sinbad jumped away from the explosion and drew out his sword. "If they're absolutely insane, I can't imagine why--Firouz get your inventions out here now!"

The inventor fumbled with the two bags, trying to separate them from where they tangled on his shoulders. He tried to pull out one of his glass balls to throw but cut himself on one of the shards.

"Firouz, hurry!" Sinbad called out as his blade clashed between Lord Cognito's fingertips.

The insane scientist pulled the blade towards him and swung a gauntlet at Sinbad's head. "Attacking me directly is most ill-advised. I am more formidable than my guards despite my being outnumbered by your paltry defenses."

"Science is never paltry!" Firouz shouted and tossed a whole glass ball at Lord Cognito's shoulder.

Cognito released Sinbad from his grip and threw up his arm to let the ball shatter on impact. The vapors of the acid started tearing off his armor and Cognito howled; a howl that soon turned into a maniacal laugh. "You expect a little alkaline to deter me? This only damages my polish. I'm stronger than your mere playthings, fool! I'm what you fail to exceed because of this weakness!" Cognito ranted and pointed down at Sinbad, who was backing away. "Which I will break to show you how frail it is!"

"Try something with more force then," Firouz intoned and grabbed the torch along with his exploding sticks to intervene.

The inventor charged Lord Cognito with his torch, sending a trail of flame where the swings finished. Cognito deftly maneuvered away from them before he took hold of Firouz's vest and the satchel hanging under its cover. Firouz brought the torch's handle down on the place where the shoulder and arm met, but the villain remained unaffected. Cognito merely snatched the bag with the exploding sticks inside and threw it behind him. Firouz just barely managed to pull away before his arm got tangled up with it and send him along for the ride. The inventor fell on the ground just beside Cognito with a sickening crunch of glass underneath the man's body from landing on the remaining satchel.

"Time to crush you like the insect you are," Lord Cognito intoned and brought his metal boot up to Firouz's head. But the inventor moved quickly, pulling up on his opponent's cape and swiveling out of the way before his foot dropped. Sinbad charged in the moment of weakness and swung the flat of his blade at Cognito's head to nudge him off balance while Firouz pulled back.

"You're not done with me yet," Sinbad grinned and flipped his saber in his hand. "I still have to teach you some manners about kidnapping people's friends."

"You are becoming a nuisance," Lord Cognito snarled.

"That's me, a regular thorn in your proverbial tin ass," Sinbad quipped and swung his saber at the man's neck, which a metal gauntlet blocked.

Cognito narrowed his eyes and threw his arm back to break their lock. "Insignificant creature. I cannot be beaten, certainly not by the likes of your primitive weapon. As an adversary, you are less than nothing to me."

"My friend is more than you'll ever be!" Firouz shouted and threw his last glass ball straight at the armored man's eyes, the only uncovered part of his whole body.

The glass shattered, most likely sending shards into Lord Cognito's vulnerable eyes. But it was the acid that did the trick, burning up the armor's varnish with a bubbling noise that was drowned out by the man's scream of pain. Cognito tore at his mask with his metal fingers to remove the mask that was holding the acid inside. He stumbled over the stone floor, knocking his body into the wall and jarring loose the lighted torch that adorned it.

The torch fell, sparks catching the purple cloak and setting it ablaze. It moved like wings of fire as Cognito writhed in pain. Firouz looked on agape at the horrific sight before Sinbad pulled him away.

Firouz was already being pulled when he turned back "No, wait! My exploding st--"

The sentence was cut off as a huge explosion threw the two back with a force that shook the entire fortress. Firouz could feel the fire's heat burn against his skin as he saw the gleaming figure of Lord Cognito's metal body, once used to protect him was now roasting the despot inside. The screams were drowned out as another explosion engulfed the man in a conflagration.

Sinbad only now opened his eyes to see the dictator burn and release a spectrum of light that exploded from him to fly out. The captain winced in preparation as some of the glowing orbs encircled both of the sailors like fireflies, sending a residue glow. The rest flew off, leaving only a trail of light in their wake. It would have been beautiful if they didn't think they were going to die in a few minutes from suffocation or burning.

Firouz coughed from the smoke as the two stumbled in a vain attempt to escape. "There's no exit out of here, Sinbad. We're trapped."

~~~

"What was that?" Doubar bellowed as the loud noise was followed by a tremor that shook them off balance. Rongar signed that it came from the northern part of the tower and shook his hands.

"Sounded like an earthquake," Mustapha concurred.

"Magic," Maeve whispered in fear. She didn't need her sensory powers to know when supernatural forces were at work. "Something's happened to them."

The rest were still looking at Maeve explaining to them when all of a sudden a beam of light pierced Maeve right through her heart. The sorceress screamed.

"Lass!" Doubar cried and ran to catch her as she collapsed.

Other orbs followed, circling the crew in curiosity. Mustapha pulled out his sword and swung at one of them.

The sorceress cried, "No don't!"

"Maeve?" Doubar said as he cradled the redhead in his arms. "You're okay?"

Maeve smiled, "Never better. Don't worry, Tubby, this magic can't hurt me because it's my own."

"What?"

Maeve stood up and approached the orbs that levitated to her eye level. "Cognito stole my magic for his own purposes as he did to countless others. These quasi-fireflies are the magic inside of every sorcerer or sorceress he'd ever taken." Her eyes darkened, "My guess is not many of the corporeal counterparts survived the separation from their own magic."

Another explosion made the room tremble. Dermott chirped uneasily and flew down to perch on his mistress's gauntlet.

"We have to get out of here," Mustapha growled.

"Not without--"

"Silence," Maeve shushed the first mate. "There's only one possible chance to make it out with all of us alive." She looked up at the floating orb right in front of her that bathed the air in a luminescent glow. "Please great sources of magic and your practitioner's spirits. Please help my friends and I escape the same tyrant that enslaved you. Grant us freedom in your absolution."

The orbs bounced amongst themselves and began to circle them. Rongar looked down at his hand to find it glowing with the same radiance of the balls of light. The whole crew took one last look of their surroundings before they became pure light and then disappeared.

~~~

Maeve faltered as she found herself on the ground of the forest floor. The free magic had given them all a rough landing, with Doubar slipping and falling on his rump. Just as they fully materialized the last and greatest explosion rocked the fortress, exploding in the fury of all the souls it's creator kept.

"No," Maeve cried softly, watching the smoke curl up into the sky. She looked around frantically for the missing bodies of her friends. "Please tell me they... it can't end this way..."

The rest of the crew paused. A moment of grave silence hung over them as they all realized what just happened. Maeve felt tears of guilt creeping into the corners of her eyes when--

"What? No happy reunion hug?" a familiar jovial voice responded.

The crew turned to see the same light that transported them to safety shine around two figures. They stepped out of the swirling lights, one sure footed and with the same cocky smile, the other hesitant in his step.

"Little brother!" Doubar crowed from where he was trying to get up.

But Maeve beat the first mate to the bear hug, grabbing the two by their necks and pulling them close to her. "I swear if you do that again I'll kill you personally." She muttered.

The others rushed up to them, Doubar lumbering behind. Maeve pulled away from Sinbad as he was pulled into a rib-crushing hug from his older brother. The sorceress moved towards the inventor where they stayed apart. She hugged her curly-haired friend a little longer this time, a little tighter. Sinbad looked on as Mustapha clapped him on the back in congratulations.

"Is he dead, little brother?" Doubar asked.

Sinbad looked up at the smoldering remains of their nemesis's stronghold. He pulled out a twisted gold sheet that once could have been mistaken for a human face from his sash. The captain analyzed it with disgust and tossed it on the ground. "This is all that's left of him."

"Maybe now those that fell under Cognito's control can finally find peace," Maeve spoke quietly. The sorceress closed her eyes and lifted up her head to the sky, letting the breeze wind through her red hair in a gesture of respect for the lost souls.

Firouz merely looked down at the ground. "Maybe all of us can find some peace."

~~~

"Firouz?" Maeve's voice murmured through the closed door. When no answer followed she opened it to let her head poke through, a look of concern crossing her face. "Are you okay?"

Firouz buried his face into his hands. "I'm fine. I'm fine. Just need some time alone, that's all."

The inventor heard the door close, but instead of being rewarded with sweet silence he heard Maeve's footsteps come closer and the creaking of his bed as she sat down on it. He peered through the space in between his fingers as Maeve's face looked back expectantly. "What's the matter?"

"I said I was fine, Maeve," Firouz grumbled and suddenly found the parchment on the desk to be fascinating.

"Uh-huh, and I've said that enough times to know when someone is fine and when they're really not," Maeve said in a matter-of-fact tone. "So either you tell me what's making you 'fine', or I hang around until you really are fine."

"Nothing for you to worry about. Just some niggling equation that's been at the back of my mind."

Maeve leaned forward. "Look, I know you haven't really been the same since that mechanical megalomaniac incident. I wouldn't normally pry since I understand working your problems out by yourself is usually best," she chuckled ruefully, "Believe me, I understand that very well. But I'm worried about you, Firouz. I don't know what he did but you can talk to me." The sorceress grinned and shrugged her shoulders. "I'll even try to understand the complicated scientific jargon."

Firouz smiled faintly and stared forward at the wall. "He didn't hurt me, Maeve. At least not the way he hurt you. It was what he said, everything about how science has no room for anything but facts, that I would never be a great scientist because my emotions always got in my way. I guess it struck a chord."

"You're a great scientist because of your emotions," Maeve argued passionately. "You always worked best when someone's live was on the line. Remember Princess Gaia and how you worked to save her? Or the crossbow when we were trapped by the Vorgon? And there was that blowing thingy that defeated Kris Kattah. The best ideas come because you want to help and protect others."

"And what about the times I've harmed someone?" Firouz cried sadly, "Like when we were at Corizar and I nearly went to war with my Ruby Beamers?"

"Oh, so you made a few mistakes like gluing Sinbad's boots to the floor," Maeve said flippantly and placed her hand on his shoulder, "it doesn't change that you designed those things for good."

"But it was so easy to use them for the wrong reasons!" Firouz cried and threw her hand off him and stood up. He clenched his hand and paced back and forth, as if trying to find some way to release the rage that had been festering in him since Lord Cognito placed it there. "It's so easy just to manipulate everything I've ever made to hurt and destroy! Everything science has ever accomplished, every contrivance, has probably done more harm than good in its creation. Maybe Cognito was right, maybe the only reason why I am the way I am is because I'm a naïve fool for thinking science was man's way of making the world better. We just make it easier to destroy."

"That's not true and you know it Firouz!" Maeve said angrily. "Science isn't merely a tool, a way, used by scientists. It's a sort of moral code that people like you use technology to help. It did in that cell when I couldn't use my magic. Your science helped me, Firouz. And I wouldn't believe in the good of science if I didn't believe in you."

Firouz looked up with surprise in his face. He never knew the fiery Celt to feel that way, and turned his head to see Maeve with her head bowed. She chuckled slightly, not losing a depreciating edge in the laughter. "Who knows? Magic probably will become an arcane art with the way your science is continuing to spread. Everyday another is looking at things logically, not magically. Maybe you're right, Firouz, the duality of science will one day revolutionize the world, leaving magic to lay dormant in the pages of fairy tales. A passing idea, remaining only in the imagination. Perhaps it's meant be..."

Firouz swallowed and shook his head. "Not feasibly possible. After all, a sorceress like you is hard to forget, Maeve. And even though I may look for the logic behind a conjurer's spell, there will always be what I can't explain. Miracles, wizardry, the phenomenon that surpass learned men's knowledge. Magic will never fade to science while there are those like you. And you want to know what I've concluded Maeve?" The inventor clasped Maeve's hand in his and smiled in his awkward way. "I don't really think I'd want it to. The world would be so dull without you."

Maeve chuckled softly, happy this time. She leaned over and placed a chaste kiss on Firouz's temple. The inventor flushed red as her hair as she pulled away, embarrassed and grinning in a very undignified way.

"I think I'll leave you now, esteemed scientist," Maeve dryly addressed him and turned to exit the room. She turned around before fully leaving the room with a mischievous smile on her face.

"Thank you for visiting, honored sorceress," Firouz stammered in his comical way with a mock bow. The two paused in the moment where it seemed two different worlds managed to coexist--if only for a moment without something blowing up. Maeve shut the door, leaving him alone again.

Firouz sighed happily, content to have an unlikely friendship in the firebrand sorceress. But maybe their friendship would be the starting point for the melding of science and magic for future years. Not joining the twisted way of Cognito's designs, but a better way for all. After all, the world was constantly changing and evolving. Maybe there was hope.

* * *

_Fin_


End file.
